A/N Just so that you all know, I hate this chapter with a passion. I had to do it, but I didn't like it. It's sad and not funny and the only consolation that I have so that I would actually write it and not put it off indefinitely is that the next chapter will be funny. Oh yes, I have something planned for all of you that will be very funny. (I hope.)
Oh yeah, I have to explain why I made the last chapter title. It's personal vengeance of mine. Somehow in English class it came up that a chapter of a book could not be called "Chapter 24: The Great Depression." My teacher said that 24 was the chapter # and "The Great Depression" is the title. So I vowed that someday I would name a chapter that is not chapter 24 "Chapter 24: The Great Depression." You can laugh at me for being the dork that I am now.
Enjoy (or not) the story.
After about 15 minutes of attempted study time, it became apparent that the common room was not a quiet place at the moment. So the trio retired to the Library, in hopes of some quiet. The Library was almost deserted when they got there. They sat down and began to work.
After a few minutes they had begun to relax and get down to work. They thought that they were home free when someone came into the library that they weren't expecting. And for once he was unaccompanied as well. He looked quite livid and strode right up to their table.
"Can I help you Malfoy?" Hermione asked in a very McGonagallish way.
"Not you, mudblood," Draco said snobbishly.
Ron stood up, his chair screeching threateningly. "Ron!" Hermione said and pulled him back down.
"You," Draco pointed at Harry. "I suppose you're enjoying all this aren't you? Probably put the whole thing together yourself." He paused for dramatic effect, "You might have humiliated me today, but I can tell you something. I've got you figured out. Your little plan didn't work. I'm getting on that computer, and I'm going to find whatever it is that you don't want me to see." He straightened, "Just wanted to tell you personally that your little plan failed." It was then that he finally turned and left, leaving three speechless Gryffindors in his wake.
Hermione could barely hold it in. Draco had barely left the room when she jumped to her feet and squealed. Her display of her extreme pleasure attracted more than Harry and Ron's stares. When Madame Pince shot her a glare Hermione sat down promptly but continued to giggle a bit.
Harry was the first to overcome the shock of Hermione giggling, let alone at what Malfoy had just said. "Hermione?" was all he could manage, which is really understandable.
"Yes?" she asked gaily.
"Why are you so… happy?" he finally asked.
"Because something good happened," she said unfazed.
"Do you mean about what Malfoy said?" he asked her as if she were a bit slow.
"Yes," she said matter-of-factly.
"How was any of what Malfoy said good?" Ron had finally come out of his stupor. "He called you a mudblood and accused Harry of putting out those stories. Harry wouldn't print that stuff out."
Hermione's face fell, in fact, it looked like she was on the verge of tears. She suddenly stood up and grabbed her books. "I'm sorry," she whispered and left the library.
Her reaction was so unexpected that Ron and Harry just sat there instead of going after her like they normally would have. "What's with her?" Ron asked, but Harry didn't hear. Something impossible was going through his mind.
Hermione went straight for the Room of Requirement. She needed to be alone. She needed quiet. And she needed time. A small room with a small crackling fire place and a couple of squishy chairs greeted her. The walls were covered with bookshelves. She hadn't asked for those but the sight was comforting at least.
She deposited her books on the floor and plopped in a chair. Hermione couldn't keep the smile off her face for long. Soon she was laughing and jumping up and down again. It worked! She couldn't wait to talk to Blaise and make sure that Malfoy wasn't just bluffing.
Then she remembered Harry and Ron. Idiot, she reprimanded herself. Did she have no self-control? How could she have been so careless? Now she would either have to explain herself or avoid them indefinitely. Neither option looked appealing.
After some thinking, and a bit of research, (It seemed that the Room of Requirement had provided her with some very good reading on her situation.) She decided to avoid them until she was sure that Malfoy was actually going to go through with his threat. Then she would explain everything that had been going on. Then she would apologize. And maybe throw in some groveling.
When she emerged from the Room of Requirement, she looked at her watch. Then she did a double take. Her watch read 10:54. But they had decided to got to the library around 10:30. And she had spent at least an hour in the Room of Requirement. She smiled to herself as she made her way to the common room, apparently the Room of Requirement had some tricks of its own.
Hermione carefully entered the common room and looked around. Neither Ron nor Harry were present. She breathed a sigh of relief and continued with more confidence.
"Where did you go?" the voice came from no where. "We beat you here AND had time to grab the invisibility cloak from the dormitory." Ron and Harry appeared from nowhere. Ron continued, "We want to know what's going on. Because we have only come up with one situation that would work, and we really don't want it to be true."
Ron was standing with his arms folded across his chest. Harry was merely looking at Hermione as if he had never seen her before. Hermione's blood went cold. "I- I- erm…" she looked down. "I don't know what to say," she admitted.
"Try the truth?" Harry said.
"Well, if you insist," she conceded, then looked around the room. "But not here, and no one else can know."
Ron looked like he might protest, but Harry cut him off. "Fine," he said evenly, "name the place."
Hermione considered it, the Room of Requirement had certainly provided her with time and quiet, but for some reason she didn't want them to know where she'd been. Then suddenly the perfect location presented itself to her. "Myrtle's bathroom," she said finally.
Ron groaned and Harry rolled his eyes but they both eventually conceded. Myrtle's bathroom was empty, as always, when they arrived. Hermione considered what she should actually tell them, but Harry must have guessed her intentions, as he shot her a glance. So Hermione told them the truth.
Ron stood slack jawed for pretty much the whole thing. That Hermione could deal with. But Harry just listened calmly, and that was dangerous. Hermione would have expected him to get at least a little angry by now. And if he wasn't getting angry at all right now, well, she hated to think about later. As she wrapped it up, she braced herself for the explosion. When nothing happened she looked at her friends.
Ron was the first to speak, "I don't understand… you printed that thing about yourself on purpose?"
"Yes," she explained, "it was a kind of insurance; there was no way Filch would suspect me that way."
"But why he would suspect you in any case? You never break the rules. Well, not unless it's a case of life and death. Until now I guess…" he trailed off.
At that very moment, Peeves decided that it was time to make his entrance. Actually, it was the most un-peeves-like entrance that had ever been seen. He had expected the bathroom to be empty as he crept in to sneak up on Myrtle. When instead he came face to face with the trio, all in various states of distress, he did the only thing he could do, scream.
Peeves was lucky that day that the trio was not in a laughing mood, or he might have been laughed at. And Peeves does not like to be laughed at, he generally prefers the laughing. As it was though, he was able to pretend like he was intending to sneak up on the trio and not Myrtle. Ron, Harry, and Hermione just stared as he made his cackling exit.
"So I told you what I did and why and I apologized. Am I free to go now?" Hermione said once he was gone.
"Yeah," Harry said evenly. Hermione turned to go and they didn't follow her. As she was climbing the stairs she heard a familiar voice singing about some very bad boys who liked to sneak into the girls bathroom. She felt a stab of guilt for the millionth time that weekend and kept going. Maybe tomorrow will be better, she thought. She heard the last echoes of Peeves cackle as she ascended the stairs.